10 Facts About Francesca Thompson

Francesca Thompson was at one point a leading academic in the field of theater and African-American studies.

Francesca Thompson was born Edeve Thompson in 1932 in Los Angeles, California to Evelyn Preer and Edward Thompson, who were leading silent film actors and vaudevillians in the 1910s and 1920s.

When it came time to attend to high school, Thompson faced the barrier of local racial segregation laws, which practically barred her from enrolling in any school in Indianapolis.

Francesca Thompson was received into the novitiate of the Franciscan Sisters that same year.

Francesca Thompson professed religious vows the following year, upon completing that stage of formation, at which time she received the religious habit of the congregation and the religious name by which she is known.

Francesca Thompson obtained her degree in 1960, at which time she was assigned to teach at a school run by the congregation in the inner city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Francesca Thompson then received permission to work on a doctorate in theater at the University of Michigan, which she received in 1966.

Francesca Thompson then began to teach at Marian College, where she served as chairwoman of the Department of Theater and Speech.

Francesca Thompson retired in 2005, moving to the motherhouse of her congregation in Oldenburg.

Francesca Thompson has served as a member of the nominating committee for the Tony Awards.